The roof on the new Goodman Logistics Center (the building on the right) encompasses more than 1 million square feet. The roof system installation met an aggressive timeline that spanned the winter months. Photo: Goodman Carlisle LLC

Goodman, an international commercial and industrial property group, approached Donald B. Smith Inc. of DBS Roofing in November 2017 to support the roofing of the company’s new Logistics Center in central Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1948, DBS Roofing is a second-generation, privately held company whose principles of quality and workmanship have earned the team countless awards. Among those honors include the Firestone Master Contractor recognition, the Baltimore Builder’s Exchange “Craftsman of the Year Award” and numerous industry publication recognitions for notable projects.

The Logistics Center roof was 1,010,000 square feet and was established on a very aggressive timeline that spanned through the tough Northeast winter months. The initial specifications of the job called for a mechanically fastened TPO roof system, which was going to be challenging with the size and timeline of the project. Additionally, the condensation levels in central Pennsylvania are not ideal for mechanically fastened solutions, as it would require applying a vapor barrier and foam around all perimeters, exceeding the original budget and schedule.

To save time and keep the project moving forward during the unfavorable winter conditions, DBS Roofing elected to use one of the company’s favorite “box world” solutions — Firestone Building Products (FSBP) UltraPly TPO SA with Secure Bond Technology.

Photo: Goodman Carlisle LLC

The TPO roofing system is comprised of a self-adhering membrane with factory applied, pressure sensitive adhesive and technology designed to ensure uniform adhesion coverage across the entire membrane. According to the manufacturer, the system can be installed in weather as cold as 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Commercial roofing in central Pennsylvania can be very challenging during the winter season, but Firestone UltraPly TPO SA allows our business to continue working through those conditions and prosper,” says Donnie Sanders, president of construction, DBS Roofing. “Being able to apply the Firestone TPO SA at 20 degrees resulted in a successful year for us.”

The Goodman Logistics Center roofing project began on November 1, 2017 and was completed on time March 1, 2018.

Originally built in the 1930s to serve as a maintenance facility for electric-powered cable cars and train cars, the Interurban Electric Railway Bridge Yard Shop (IERBYS) is now a transportation museum for the Oakland to San Francisco Bay Bridge. Photo: CertainTeed

A transportation museum located along the Bay Bridge Trail in Oakland’s Gateway Park required roofing with a classic look plus the benefits of modern materials to protect its exhibits far into the future.

Built in Oakland, California, in the 1930s as a maintenance facility for electric-powered cable cars and train cars, the Interurban Electric Railway Bridge Yard Shop (IERBYS) was transformed into a transportation museum for the Oakland to San Francisco Bay Bridge that opened in 2013.

Due to the IERBYS being a historic landmark, the installing contractor — Westech Roofing of Richmond, California — was required to have the building exterior match the same look the building presented when it was first constructed, as documented by historic photos of the building available through the Library of Congress.

Classic Look, Modern Materials

The original roof was a hot-process built-up roof, and considerations were given to try to match that look by installing a hot asphalt roof system. However, because of factors such as roof access, wind from the bay, and number of times the kettle would need to be moved to access the structure’s 17 separate roof decks, the decision was made to use a different application method.

Photo: CertainTeed

The contractor chose CertainTeed’s Flintlastic SA self-adhered modified bitumen system along with SmartFlash liquid flashing to overcome the project’s challenges and replicate the look that was required by the client. The three-ply system consists of Flintlastic SA Nailbase, Flintlastic SA Midply and Flintlastic SA Cap FR Capsheet.

Another challenge for the Bay Bridge Museum was completing the roof flashing. On each of the numerous roof decks there were locations where the roofing needed to be flashed to the siding on the outside of the building. However, the siding is constructed of asbestos panels, which required the Westech Roofing team members to complete the roof flashing without disturbing the panels. In order to accomplish this task, they used CertainTeed’s SmartFlash liquid flashing with excellent results.

The new Under Armour distribution warehouse roof encompasses 1,286,000 square feet. It was topped with a TPO roof system manufactured by Johns Manville. Photo: Orndorff & Spaid Roofing Inc.

Industrial projects exceeding one million square feet of roofing might give some contractors pause, but at Orndorff & Spaid Roofing Inc., it’s just another day at the office.

The third-generation family run roofing contractor has been in business since 1953. Orndorff & Spaid services the Baltimore-Washington metro area, as well as parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. It focuses primarily on large-scale commercial projects, including warehouses, distribution centers, retail businesses, schools and data centers.

Orndorff & Spaid routinely tackles roofing projects up to 1.5 million square feet. The company strives to keep as much work as possible under its own control, and the necessary supplies and equipment are always on hand at its 13-acre headquarters in Beltsville, Maryland.

“We’re a little bit unique as a roofing company in that we self-perform almost everything,” says Richard Harville, vice president of estimating. “We have our own cranes, all our own lifts. We do our own trucking. We have an in-house mechanic’s shop that repairs all of the equipment. All fuel servicing is done from our yard here. We also warehouse a fair share of material here because the logistics of running a job.”

Photo: Johns Manville

A recent new construction project at the former location of a Bethlehem Steel factory in Tradepoint St. John’s was right up their alley. “This was a new construction project, fairly conventional in most regards except for one, and that had to do with the site,” notes Harville. “Most of the site had been infilled over the years, and there was a lot of slag and other materials on this site, so it is not bedrock, for sure.” Due to the potential for movement, seismic expansion joints were specified. The gaps in the deck were as wide as 9 inches.

The owner of the complex was kept under wraps during construction phase, but the completed Under Armour distribution warehouse is now an area landmark. The roof encompasses 1,286,000 square feet, and the project had to be completed under a very tight schedule.

The general contractor on the project, FCL, reached out to Orndorff & Spaid during the design phase, and they recommended a TPO roof system manufactured by Johns Manville.

Harville shared his insights on the project with Roofing, along with members of the project team including Dane Grudzien, estimator; Carl Spraker, project manager, single ply; and Mike McKinney, project manager, sheet metal.

The Clock Is Ticking

Work began in April 2017 with a deadline to finish by the end of July. “The schedule was what made this project difficult,” notes Harville. “They had an end user set to come in and they were in an extreme hurry to get this thing done.”

Harville and Spraker were confident the experienced team would be up to the task. “Once we got our bearings, we rock and rolled this job,” Spraker says. “We had up to 40 employees on the site and worked six days a week.”

The roof system installed over the structure’s metal deck included two layers of 2.5-inch polyiso and a 60-mil TPO membrane. “This job was mechanically attached at 6 inches on center, with perimeter and corner enhancements as required by FM,” notes Grudzien.

The roof installation began with a 10-man crew, and crews were added as the work ramped up. “We ended up with four 10-man crews, with the foreman on the first crew in charge the team,” Spraker recalls. “We just did as much as we could every day and kept track of everything. We averaged 700 squares a day. One day we did 1,000 squares.”

Crews worked on half of the building at a time, with falling back as needed to install flashings or strip in the gravel stop. “We started on one side of the building and went from end to end, following the steel contractor,” says Spraker. “When we finished one side, we came all the way back to the end where they started and followed them down the opposite side.”

The roof also incorporated 276 VELUX skylights to illuminate key areas of the facility. Logistics Lighting delivered them all in one shipment, as Orndorff & Spaid requested. The 4-foot-by-8-foot skylights were stored on site and loaded to the roof with a crane for installation after a plasma cutter was used to cut holes in the deck. Prefabricated curbs were installed and flashed. “I had a separate crew designated just to install skylights,” Spraker notes

Safety precautions included perimeter warning lines, and workers outside that area were tied off 100 percent of the time, as they were when the skylights were installed. AES Raptor TriRex Safety Carts were used as anchor points.

Safety is always crucial, notes Harville, and the company makes it a priority on every project. “Our safety parameters go above and beyond standard state or federal mandating,” he notes.

Metal Work

The scope of work included large external gutters, downspouts and edge metal. According to McKinney, the sheet metal application was pretty straightforward. “There was just a lot of it — long, straight runs down two sides,” he says. “The coping was installed on the parapets on the shorter ends.”

Gutters were installed after the roof system was in place. “The roof wasn’t 100 percent complete, but once areas of the roof were installed and the walls were painted white, we could begin to install the gutters,” says McKinney. “After work was completed on one side, crews moved to the other side.”

The large gutter featured internal and external hangers, alternating 36 inches on center. All the metal was fabricated in house, and the exterior hangers were powder coated to match the steel.

Once the external hangers were installed, the gutter sections were lowered into place and secured by crew members in a man lift. “Once you had your hangers up, you could just lower the gutter over the side and into the external hangers,” McKinney explains. “We put the internal hangers into place after that. After the drip edge is installed, the single-ply crews come back and flash the drip edge into the roof system.”

Installation of the downspouts had to wait until the walls were painted. One wrinkle was the change in color of the downspouts. About two-thirds of the way up the wall, the paint scheme went from black to white, and the building owner wanted the downspouts to change colors to match. “We reverse-engineered it,” notes McKinney. “We measured from the paint line up and put in a 30-foot section of downspouts there, because we put our bands at the joints and we didn’t want to have the bands too close together in the middle of the wall.”

Talented Team

The project was completed on budget — and a month early. FCL hosted a barbecue to celebrate. “FCL had a big cookout for the contractors with a steak dinner for everyone,” notes Harville. “They really went over and above on that.”

The Orndorff & Spaid team credits the effort of all companies involved for the success of the project. “The steel contractor was phenomenal, and FCL did an excellent job of coordinating everything,” Spraker says.

The manufacturer also did an excellent job, notes Harville, who commended the work of Melissa Duvall, the JM sales rep on the project, and Barney Conway, the field rep, who visited the site at least once a week. “JM did a good job keeping us well stocked with material and getting us deliveries when we needed them,” Harville notes.

The team members at Orndorff & Spaid believe their confidence comes from experience and knowing that most of the variables are under control. “A lot of that has to do with the equipment we can bring to bear when we need to,” Harville states. “We control the logistics all the way through. Most companies are going to rent a crane or hire trucking — we do all of that. We have our own lifts, we have our own cranes, we do all of our flatbed trucking. We bring a unique process to the table. Beyond that, and our project managers are well versed at doing this. It’s not our first rodeo.”

When the original built-up roof on Hensley Beverage Company’s Tucson warehouse was failing, it was topped with a sprayed-in-place polyurethane foam roof system and an acrylic elastomeric protective coating. Photos: Rain Man Roofing

What do Landshark Lager, Stella Artois, 3 Amigos Tequila, Nesquik, and Sunny Delight have in common? All are products distributed by Arizona-based Hensley Beverage Company. And all are favorites of Rain Man Roofing, the contractor that repaired a 100,000-square-foot warehouse roof at Hensley’s Tucson location.

Hensley Beverage Company began in 1955 when Jim Hensley, starting with just 15 employees, delivered 73,000 cases of ice-cold Anheuser-Busch beer to thirsty Phoenix residents. Fast-forward to 2018 and Hensley is among the largest family-owned and -operated beverage distribution firms in the United States.

Today, under the leadership of CEO Robert Delgado, President Andrew McCain and Chairman of the Board Cindy McCain, Hensley Beverage Company is a 30-million-case wholesaler. Cindy McCain is the daughter of company founder Jim Hensley and wife of U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona). Andrew McCain is the senator’s son from a previous marriage.

The company operates a service fleet of more than 1,100 delivery vehicles and employs more than 1,200 people. Delivery now extends beyond Phoenix into every corner of Arizona. Trucks regularly deliver over 2,500 different beverages to thirsty desert dwellers, including domestic, imported, and craft beers, spirits, wine and non-alcoholic beverages of all sorts.

Beverages like these have to be refrigerated in a climate-controlled distribution warehouse while they are being stored. Some kegs need to be stored at 34 to 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Other products can get by at higher temperatures ranging from 45 to 60 degrees.

But the warehouse can’t control the environment efficiently with a leaky roof. That’s where Rain Man Roofing owner Mark Hughes came in.

Rain Man Roofing, founded in 2010, is one of the highest rated roofing specialists in both Arizona and California. In 2011, Rain Man became a BBB Accredited Business with an A+ rating, which it has consistently maintained. With more than 25 years of experience in the roofing industry, Rain Man is well known for inspecting every roofing solution at both the beginning and end of a job — and providing detailed status reports throughout the entire process.

Rain Man to the Rescue

In early 2018, Hensley’s VP of Fleet and Facilities Anthony Keffer contacted Hughes about roof issues at Hensley’s Tucson facility. Hughes’ roofers had, in September 2017, successfully stopped a leaking roof at another Hensley building in Flagstaff with a simple and affordable restoration solution, so Keffer asked Hughes to take a look at the Tucson site.

Crews from Rain Man Roofing completed work on the nearly 100,000-square-foot section of the warehouse roof in just three weeks. Photos: Rain Man Roofing

Several attempts to fix the roof in-house had failed to solve the problem. But Hughes and Rain Man, along with Erin Easter of Icynene-Lapolla, suggested a re-roof using a roof system of sprayed-in-place polyurethane foam and an acrylic elastomeric protective coating. Hensley accepted the proposal and work on the nearly 100,000-square-foot warehouse roof began.

Hensley inherited the 20-plus-year-old, low-sloped roof of the Tucson distribution facility in January 2016 when the company acquired Anheuser-Busch InBev wholesaler Golden Eagle Distributors Inc. The roof itself consisted of a UV-coated built-up, smooth-surfaced modified roof system over lightweight concrete. The old roof also included a cardboard separator installed between the concrete and a corrugated metal roof deck.

By 2018, the laps in the roof’s membrane no longer functioned properly and roof system failure became increasingly frequent. The lap failures, most likely caused by improper installation and deterioration from constant UV exposure, caused obvious openings in the membrane. Rain Man’s inspectors noticed these problems, as well as related failures in the expansion joints, and worked to come up with a viable solution.

The Repair Proposal

Together, Hughes and Easter proposed installing a spray-in-place polyurethane foam roof system over the existing system. The proposal covers the north end of the building (the 100,000-square-foot portion of the roof), where the majority of the controlled environment warehouse (CEW) is located. Hensley’s budget required that the southern portion of the building be repaired later; this second stage was tentatively set for August 2018.

A 1-inch thick layer of polyurethane spray foam was applied over the entire existing roof system. The foam was also used to form flashings at penetrations. Photos: Rain Man Roofing

The answer to the lap problems was to broom and blow the roof, which entailed cleaning the roof of debris and smoothing out the plies to ensure contact with adhesives. Lapolla Thermo-Prime Acrylic Roof Primer was to be applied to the roof, followed by a 1-inch layer of spray polyurethane foam (FOAM-LOK™ LPA 2800-4G) on top of the primer. Finally, a double-pass application of acrylic elastomeric Thermo-Flex 750 coating would finish the job.

Scheduled to start in April 2018, work was expected to take three weeks to complete and would require two foam rigs and eight full-time roofers with Rain Man’s David Caballero as foreman. Hensley would provide the roofers with a covered staging area (normally used as a patio for side-loaded delivery vehicles), where the crew could store equipment and roofing materials.

The staging area would allow Rain Man to shield its supplies and equipment from the high winds and cold weather. Because the job took place in April, when cold temperatures are common in Tucson, the spray foam would be stored under the patio cover. The colder spray foam gets, the longer it takes to warm it up so it can be used effectively.

The finished product was designed to take advantage of the insulating properties of the original roof, and the new “cool roof” monolithic system overlaying the old one would add R-value to the warehouse. The lightweight concrete separator would be retained so the spray foam wouldn’t fill the low spots in the corrugated metal roof deck, which would be a waste of materials.

Roof System Installation

Rain Man Roofing began the project with a pre-job inspection to discuss the application process of the new roof, go over safety and logistical concerns and keep the team at Hensley in the loop. Hughes prides himself on keeping his clients informed of each step in the roofing process.

Photos: Rain Man Roofing

After the details of the roof application were ironed out, the roofers set up their safety precautions. The Hensley building’s low-slope roof did not pose any unusual safety precautions, but Tucson regularly experiences strong winds that make roofing jobs more dangerous. Bright light also presented a danger to the roofers’ eyes, especially after the white acrylic coating was applied. The light reflected off the roof from the intense Arizona sun can be blinding. Hughes and Caballero made sure that their roofers took appropriate measures against the wind and the blinding light.

During the project, safety meetings were held every morning before work to discuss any danger areas that might present themselves that day. The crew also had to ensure each day that the surrounding area was protected from overspray. Sometimes this involved moving company vehicles away from the building.

Once they climbed up onto the roof, the roofers removed and properly disposed of 830 linear feet of expansion joint. After new expansion joints were mechanically fastened to the existing metal deck, the roof was blown and pressure washed free of dirt and debris. Polyurethane foam requires a completely clean surface to ensure a proper bond.

Thermo-Prime was applied to the prepped roof at a rate of one-quarter gallon per 100 square feet. Next, a 1-inch thick layer of polyurethane spray foam was applied over the entire existing roof system. The foam was also used to form all penetration flashings as needed.

Finally, the white acrylic protective coating was applied evenly to the roof in two passes. Each pass used 1.5 gallons per 100 square feet, adding up to three gallons total as described in the manufacturer’s specifications and 10-year limited warranty requirements.

When All’s Said and Done

After three weeks of hard work, high winds and bright sun, Rain Man completed Hensley’s new monolithic roof system. The new roof, designed to have zero seams and zero breaks between flashings and the roof system, will now stand up to the harsh desert climate and add a minimum of an R-6 insulation value to the controlled environment warehouse.

The Hensley Beverage Company is thrilled with its new roof and ready to contract Mark Hughes and Rain Man Roofing for more work in the future, starting with the southern part of the Tucson facility in August.

Hensley’s Anthony Keffer was also kind enough to provide beverages — non-alcoholic, of course — direct from the warehouse to the roofers working in the hot sun. And in the evenings, they were treated to some Bud Light to celebrate a job well done.

Owned by the Port of New Orleans, the Nashville Ave. Terminal Complex offers more than a million square feet of cargo space. When the structure’s original built-up roof reached the end of its service life, a standing seam metal roof was manufactured and installed by Ray Bros. Inc. on the vast majority of the building. Photo: Aero Photo.

Construction projects on active jobsites can mean coordinating a lot of moving parts. Projects don’t get much more complicated than the recent roof replacement at the Nashville Ave. Terminal Complex, owned by the Port of New Orleans. The scope of work was multifaceted, the schedule was daunting, and everyone entering the facility had to have the proper security credentials. All of the work was performed next to the Mississippi River on top of an active wharf building, with cargo coming in and going out on trucks and forklifts as ships were loaded and unloaded. Materials housed inside the building were sensitive to moisture, dust and debris — and often had to be moved as work progressed.

Gino Ray Sr., president of Ray Bros. Inc., the roofing contractor on the project, likened it to a giant, three-dimensional puzzle. “It was almost like a Rubik’s Cube,” he says. “They had to move a section of material, and then when we finished a section, they slid the material over there so we could move on the next one. The whole time, the port was in operation. There was a lot of dancing involved.”

The Terminal

The Nashville Ave. Terminal Complex, operated by Ports America Louisiana Inc., offers more than 1 million square feet of storage space. Built in the 1960s, the structure was a rigid-frame, iron building with a ballasted tar and gravel roof over a heavy tongue-and-groove wooden deck. Decades of problems had seriously deteriorated the wooden deck, as well as the four-by-four wood nailers that were bolted to the rafters and purlins.

Key members of the team on the project included (from Left) N. Guy Williams of ECM Consultants, Kevin Haslauer of Glendale Enterprises, Gino Ray Sr. of Ray Bros. Inc., Craig Clark of Gulf Coast Service Group, and Curtis Shinogle of Gulf Coast Service Group.

The structure’s failing roof was replaced in three phases. During Phase 1, undertaken about a decade ago, a new built-up roof system was installed on one end of the building. When that section experienced performance issues, the owners looked for other options. Ray Bros. had the answer: an architectural metal roof.

Ray Bros. has been in business in New Orleans since 1996, when it was founded by Gino Ray Sr. The company has always focused primarily on metal roofing, and in the late ’90s it began roll forming and manufacturing its own panels and systems. “Today we manufacture everything we install,” Ray notes. “We’re kind of a hybrid — a manufacturer/contractor.”

The company’s metal panel system had been installed on several other port buildings, and the owners specified it for Phase 2 of the project, which covered a 230,000-square-foot section near the center of the building on either side of the firewall. Phase 2 was completed in 2014. Phase 3 encompassed 420,000 square feet to complete the sections on either side of Phase 2. Work began in August of 2016 and completed in May of 2017.

Ray Bros. manufactured and installed all of the metal roofing on the building — a total of 650,000 square feet — and served as both the prime contractor and the roofing contractor on the third phase of the project. Ray credits his dedicated team, the cooperation of all of the companies involved, and an innovative strategy for coping with the project’s many hurdles as the keys to a successful outcome.

Beefing Up the Structure

The standing seam metal roof system recommended by Ray Bros. was specified for its durability and low maintenance. The new system would give the port the long lifespan the owners desired, but it would necessitate some structural changes.

“Before we put the metal roof on, we had to beef up the existing trusses and reinforce the existing structure because it was such a light building now,” Ray notes. “There was an enormous amount of welding to the exiting trusses and existing purlins that had to be done before we could begin to put the roof on.”

Metal panels were roll formed directly onto the roof for installation. The panels on one side of the roof were 180 feet long. Photo: Ray Bros. Inc.

The plan was to beef up the structure from the inside and install the new gutters. Then the old roof could then be torn off and the new metal roof installed. The roof installation would be completed in sections, with crews moving from one area to the next in sequence.

Gulf Coast Service Group served as the structural steel and demolition contractor. Crews on man lifts set up inside the building reinforced the existing steel structure. New angle irons were welded to the bottom of the purlins. The existing sprinkler system had to be reconfigured, as it was attached to the four-by-four wood nailers that had to be removed. Work on the sprinklers was performed in conjunction with S & S Sprinkler Company. “We didn’t have to dismantle the sprinkler system, just move it,” Ray explains. “New hangers were mounted to the steel. We had to put a hanger on, take a hanger off. That was part of the tango dance as well.”

After the welders completed their work, crews from RK Hydrovac vacuumed the ballast off the roof. Prior to the demolition work, approximately 4,100 linear feet of gutters were installed. Oversized gutters were manufactured from 16-gauge stainless steel in the Ray Bros. metal shop, and all of the joints were welded together. Gutter sections were raised into place with a lift and secured with stainless steel brackets and hangers. “That gutter weighed about 11 pounds per running foot, and we made it in 21-foot lengths,” Ray notes.

The Roof Installation

The demolition crews and installation crews then swung into action. After sections of the deck were removed, metal panels were roll-formed on the site and installed. “The demo people would tear out a bay — which is a 20-foot section — all the way up to the ridge,” Ray explains. “On one side of the roof, the panels were 180 feet long. So, they would tear out a 20-foot-by-180-foot section, and we would come in right after that and put a 20-foot section of 180-foot panels down.”

Crew members on lifts reinforced the existing steel structure before the new roof was installed. Photo: Ray Bros. Inc.

Panels were made from 22-gauge galvalume. Zimmerman Metals supplied roll forming machines to Ray Bros. Inc. so the company could manufacture its proprietary product. The RBI MT-240 panels were 18 inches wide and interlock using continuous clips. A batten cap was installed over the top and then mechanically seamed using a machine manufactured by D.I. Roof Seamers.

The roll-up bay doors along the sides of the building and at the gable ends of the warehouse qualified it as a partially enclosed structure, which necessitated strict engineering standards. “In order to meet engineering standards, we had to use continuous clips,” Ray notes.

Every third bay had a skylight system to light the interior. Skylights used on the project were manufactured by CPI Daylighting Systems and installed by Glendale Industries. Custom-made curbs and crickets were fashioned by Ray Bros.

When skylights could not be installed right away, the openings were covered with plywood and felt to eliminate safety hazards and keep the interior of the building dry. “When the Glendale Industries people would show up, we’d remove the plywood and they would put on their system,” Ray notes. “As the job progressed, we’d re-use the same plywood and temporary coverings as we went along. We’d just leapfrog the plywood from curb to curb.”

After the roof was completed, the last step was to replace the wall panels in the interior that were designed to trap the smoke in the event of a fire. The old corrugated smoke panels were wired to the steel, but that system would not comply with today’s standards, so Ray Bros. created a sub-framing system to attach new ones. “We had 500 squares of smoke panels to install beneath the roof system,” Ray states. “We put in some16-gauge furring channels and attached the panels with screws. We manufactured all of that in house.”

After the roof was installed, 50,000 square feet of new corrugated smoke panels were installed. Photo: Ray Bros. Inc.

The demo crews, installation crews, and skylight crews kept moving in sequence under the direction of Jobsite Superintendent Robert Sinopoli, a 30-year industry veteran who has been with Ray Bros. ever since the company was founded. Sinopoli monitored everyone’s progress on the site and made sure everyone knew their assignments each day. “Everybody leapfrogged everybody else,” Ray notes. “Everyone had their own song and dance, and if one person got out of rhythm, it would domino back.”

Everyone involved on the project also needed to have a dance card, as security on the site was tight. Workers needed to have a background check and Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). Every vehicle had to have proper registration, insurance and inspection tags. The jobsite did not allow personal vehicles, and this posed a problem for Ray Bros., as the company routinely had 40 to 50 workers on site. “Everybody had to be on a company vehicle in a seat with a seat belt,” Ray notes. “I had to buy a used bus to transport workers in and out. We painted it, put our logo on it and made it look pretty. We just drove it 1.5 miles a day. At the end of the job, I sold the bus.”

Big Chunks

The project was wrapped up ahead of schedule, and it was the sequencing of work that was the key its success, according to Ray. “We didn’t want to tackle this project one bay at a time; we were looking at big chunks at a time,” he says. “We were able to develop a rhythm quicker that way. Instead of changing hats several times in the course of a day or a week, we put a hat on, let it stay on, got a big section done and moved on to the next. We didn’t want to change tools and change personnel. We wanted to look at it like a monolithic application.”

In the end, it all boiled down to pride — no one wanted to be the one to falter. “We self-perform a lot of our work, and we have existing relationships with all of the subcontractors we use,” Ray says. “I’m never going to let them down or leave them hanging, and I know they are going to do the same for me. That’s what made that job go — no one wanted to be the weak link. Everybody had a job to do and they did it. It worked out great.”

It was a true team effort. “This was like our Super Bowl, and we won,” Ray concludes. “I’m real proud of my company, our people, and all the people we worked with. I know that on our next job, I can count on them and they know they can count on me.”

Tree House Brewing opened its new 51,200-square-foot brewery in Charlton, Massachusetts in July of 2017. Photos: Sika Sarnafil

Standing in line for hours for one case of canned beer might seem foolish to some people, but to fans of Tree House Brewing — which was recently named one of the country’s Top 15 Craft Breweries by Forbes magazine — it is well worth it. Tree House Brewing began humbly enough in 2011 in a barn in Brimfield, Massachusetts. And yes, there was a tree house on the property.

Since then, the brewery has grown so much in popularity that it required a bigger facility. So in July of 2017, Tree House opened a 51,200-square-foot brewery on 68 acres in Charlton, Massachusetts. On opening day, the new facility consistently had 1,000 customers waiting for hours to purchase Tree House’s ales, IPAs and stouts. Many of the patrons traveled from out of state and some arrived at 6 a.m., six hours before the doors opened.

It’s been said that the key to Tree House Brewing’s success is meticulous attention to details such as temperatures, additives and the water used in the brewing. It only made sense that the same attention to detail would be utilized when selecting a roofing system for the new facility.

Meeting the Bar

The roof that Tree House Brewing selected to cover its new brewery is Sika Roofing’s Sarnafil EnergySmart PVC membrane installed with the Sarnafil RhinoBond System. “We like Sarnafil because it is easy to use, easy to specify and an industry leader,” says Peter Webster, designer/project manager at Austin Design in Brattleboro, Vermont. “The light colored, reflective roof also offers energy savings, and our past experience with the Sarnafil roof shows it is a great product.”

The roof system for the new brewery features Sika Roofing’s Sarnafil EnergySmart PVC membrane, which was installed using the Sarnafil RhinoBond System. Photos: Sika Sarnafil

The fact that the Sarnafil system is easy to install was an important factor, considering the time crunch of the project. “This was a ‘hurry up’ project — we weren’t done with the design when the steel structure went up,” Webster explains.

The Sarnafil RhinoBond System uses advanced induction welding technology to bond the membrane directly to specially coated plates used to secure the insulation to the deck, all without penetrating the roofing membrane.

In addition, the Sarnafil RhinoBond System can be used in temperatures as low as zero degrees Fahrenheit (-18°C), making it an ideal application method for winter projects.

“Much of the installation was during the winter,” states Robert Luukko, president of Kidd-Luukko Corporation in Worcester, Massachusetts, the roofing contractor on the project.

Photos: Sika Sarnafil

“Not only did Kidd-Luukko have to deal with cold temperatures, but the site is on top of a hill so there were high winds,” says Frank Quigley, president and owner of F.D. Quigley & Associates of Wilbraham, Massachusetts, the construction manager on the job. And of course, since it was winter they needed to make the building watertight as quickly as possible.

“Fortunately, Kidd-Luukko was able to seal the building before we were hit by some big snowstorms in February,” Webster says.

Other challenges included installing a 42-foot by 8-foot skylight and working around gables where the low roof wrapped around the corners. “Kidd-Luukko employees were very professional, well managed and well organized,” Quigley states. “I’d be happy to use them again.”

“Can-Do” Attitude

“Bob Luukko and his team had a ‘can-do’ attitude that really helped move the project along,” Webster comments. In fact, Kidd-Luukko was able to complete the installation ahead of the allotted eight-month time frame, Luukko notes, adding that teamwork was key. “We had weekly meetings with a great group of guys involved with the project where we would discuss how we were going to come in on time and on budget with this installation,” he says. Sika Roofing representatives also played a role in meeting the deadline. “We had multiple visits from the Sika technician, which really kept the project moving forward,” Luukko remarks.

After a vapor barrier was applied on the metal deck, crews installed polyiso insulation, tapered insulation and a high-density cover board before the membrane was attached. Photos: Sika Sarnafil

Today, both the roof and the brewery are doing great. “We’ve had no problems with the roof at all,” Webster says. Luukko adds, “This project went so well that we are receiving a lot of interest in installing Sarnafil roofs on other projects.”

At the new facility, Tree House Brewing will be able to produce 40,000 barrels a year — compared to 12,000 barrels at their former facility in Monson, Massachusetts — and they plan to eventually expand the capacity to 180,000 barrels a year. That’s news that should make thirsty Tree House beer fans very, very happy.

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March/April 2019

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Roofing is a national publication that unravels, investigates and analyzes how to properly design, install and maintain a roof system. Through the voices of professionals in the field, Roofing’s editorial provides a unique perspective.